We want to draw your attention to an important issue that has become increasingly problematic in recent years, the practice of swapping race numbers.
Swapping or transferring your race number to another individual outside of the official transfer window is strictly prohibited under the rules of the Dublin Marathon. This condition was clearly outlined and agreed to by all participants during the application process.
Why this is a serious issue:
• Health & Safety: If a runner suffers an injury or medical emergency, we must be able to identify them immediately. Swapping numbers makes this impossible and puts lives at risk.
• Integrity of Results: Number swapping undermines the fairness of the event. We have seen male runners using female numbers and finishing times recorded against individuals who never ran the race. This affects overall results, masters categories, age groups, and prize allocations.
This practice cannot continue. From this year onward, the Dublin Marathon will operate a zero-tolerance policy on number swapping outside of the official transfer window.
Any participant found to have sold, transferred, or otherwise misused their race number will be disqualified, along with the transferee, from this and all future competitions organised by Marathon Event Management DAC (MEM DAC). These competitions currently include the Dublin Marathon, the Dublin Race Series (Fingal 10km, Frank Duffy 10 Mile, and the Dublin Half Marathon), as well as the newly introduced Dublin City Half Marathon.
In addition:
• All disqualified results will be fully removed from the official records to protect the accuracy and credibility of our results database.
• We will not accommodate requests to retrospectively change or amend a result to another individual’s name.
We ask for your full cooperation in helping us protect the safety, integrity, and fairness of the Dublin Marathon and our wider race series